The present invention relates to a floor group for a vehicle, especially for a motor vehicle, with a tunnel arranged in the floor center and extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, whereby power plant parts and at least one line or conduit for the heating and/or ventilation system of the motor vehicle are provided inside or adjacent the tunnel and the tunnel is closed off in the direction toward the road surface by a cover element.
In a known floor group of the aforementioned type (DE-AS No. 23 29 985), only the power plant parts are arranged inside the tunnel whereas the lines for the venting and/or heating system are attached freely exposed underneath the cover element. This arrangement entails the disadvantage that the lines are not protected against dirt and mechanical loads and therefore can be easily damaged. The ground clearance of the vehicle is limited by the lines protruding toward the road surface. Therebeyond, the aerodynamic conditions in the subfloor area become worse which has as a consequence an increase of the air resistance coefficient. Finally, during a repair of the power plant parts, the lines for the heating and/or ventilation system must be disassembled before the cover element can be removed which represents a considerable expenditure.
A floor group for a motor vehicle with a tunnel extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction is disclosed in the DE-PS No. 12 75 371, whereby the tunnel is formed by a channel-shaped identification of the floor plate open in the upward direction and by a stamping mounted on the top side of the floor plate. The floor plate and the stamping are connected with each other along flanges directed in the same direction by spot-welding. A pipe-shaped line formed by a separate structural part is arranged inside the tunnel.
This arrangement entails the disadvantage that additional fastening elements are required for the mounting of the line inside of the tunnel. In case of repir, the accessibility to the line is strongly limited because the stamping is non-detachably connected with the floor plate.
It is the object of the present invention to so construct a line for the heating and/or ventilation which is arranged adjacent a tunnel that combined with simple construction it can be assembled and disassembled with slight expenditure.
The underlying problems are solved according to the present invention in that the line for the heating and/or ventilation is constructed in one piece with the cover element over at least a partial area of its longitudinal extent.
The principal advantages achieved with the present invention reside in that owing to the one-piece construction of the line with the cover element, a tunnel construction is created which has a simple construction and can be manufactured favorably from a cost point of view. Furthermore, the line for the heating and/or ventilation can be assembled and disassembled rapidly and is readily accessible in the case of repair. The strength of the body (bending, torsion and crash) is therebeyond considerably improved by the construction of the line as box-shaped bearer. Additional fastening elements for the line are at least reduced.